November 18. A bitter sweet day. Today would be the birthday of my uncle, Jeff. Jeff passed away, not long after his birthday a few years ago, after a grueling battle with cancer. That is the bitter part. The sweet part is who Jeff was and still is.
I
was always close with Jeff. Our families always lived within five
minutes of each other. I would spend most of my free days going to his
house to play with my cousin. Jeff was one of the many wonderful, God
fearing, and loving role models in my life. He knew the great love of
Christ probably better than anyone I have met. Every time we would go on
vacation Jeff would know numerous people that he had met one way or
another no matter where we went. Yeah, that's cool, but the coolest
thing is how he interacted with everyone he came in contact with. Since
Jeff understood the love of Christ, he had the same heart for people
Christ had. You could talk to Jeff for 5 minutes and feel like you had
known him your whole life. He genuinely cared about every single person
he came in contact with. Jeff loved to do things BIG, and his
relationships were no exception. This is just one of the many examples of
why remembering Jeff and his life is sweet.
While
he was sick, he remained in good spirits and knew no matter what
happened, he would be happy and be able to bring glory to the Lord. He
asked everyone to "Pray BIG" while he was sick, and we all did. We were
all praying he would be healed of course. However, the Lord had
different plans. I did not understand this at first, but reflecting back
on it and hearing only a few stories from people he came in contact
with, I realized even though Jeff is no longer physically here, he is
still doing the work of the Lord in many ways. It never occurred to me
that could happen until I experienced this. While we were praying for
healing, the Lord answered by saving others lives through their previous
encounters with Jeff and even through dreams. Jeff had "died" his
earthly death, but because of this others are now going to have eternal
life through Jesus Christ, just as Jeff.
I
believe with everything in me that Jeff is in heaven looking down on
every single person he knew. Jeff would always ask the hard questions,
try to get you to try new things, and challenge you. In the spirit of
his birthday I would like to challenge you to try something new. Make a
new friend and invest in their life in a positive way. I want to
challenge you to Pray BIG. Lately the Lord has really been teaching me
how powerful prayer is. We do not always get the answer we want and in
the time we want it, but whenever and however it comes we can rest in
the fact that it is from the Lord and it is good. So most of all I want
to challenge you to consistently pray for something this week. Pray
without ceasing.
Jeff,
I miss you, but I know I will see you again and get to spend eternity
with you. I love you dearly, and I am so thankful for the example you
are in my life and the loving life you lived here on earth.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
